Distinguished Morning Remarks for February 9:

Steven R. Loranger, ITT Industries, Inc.

"... today, complacency about water quality and availability has resulted in, unfortunately, a lack of progress."

"There's got to be a connection between the cost of producing a good and what people pay for it. Without that connection, waste and inefficiency will indeed result. It's our responsibility, then, to increase the awareness that if people undervalue water, they're very likely to waste it. And we think that is a fundamental economic equation that needs to be addressed."

"We need to have the will power to consistently educate our public about the many issues of scarcity, sanitation, and energy. And I think this education particularly will raise the awareness of youth, because those are the folks that are going to be consuming water and setting policy for the future."

Steven Loranger captured many important points in the distinguished morning address. To improve the global water situation, he stated, more technological innovation is needed. This innovation will result from the public's understanding of and action on three areas: (1) scarcity of inadequate supply, (2) sanitation and environmental issues, and (3) efficient use of energy. He also identified the conditions essential for innovation, including the need to think longer term and have a global vision in order to see global linkages.

Loranger focused mainly on the conditions essential for innovation. First, he challenged policymakers and leaders to be time travelers by thinking longer term. Populations will increase greatly, and cities will grow and expand, but water amounts will not. Second, we must have a global vision to see global linkages. One child dies every 8 seconds from water-borne diseases. Communicating this effectively with the outside world would likely spur initiatives to pay more attention to water issues and deal with its consequences, especially with its effects on human health. More energy will be necessary to spread pure water resources to all areas of the world. Just as oil was the "fluid of development and contention of the last century, water is the fluid of development and contention of this century." Third, we must have the steady will power to publicly declare that because of subsidies, water is not offered at market value and the public does not know its true cost. Thus, we must have the will to consider offering water at market value and offering water through public and private partnerships. The misperception that water is free or cheap should be abolished. The bottled water we drink each day is 6 to 10 times the price of gasoline. The cost of gathering water in the developing world, in terms of labor and lost hours for the millions of women and children who must carry water from remote sources, is also very high. Also, if manufacturing and agricultural sectors can improve or reduce their use of water, there will be more for others. Fourth, we must use brainpower to solve problems of scarcity, sanitation, and energy. Using self-contained, no intake water systems allows companies to bring down costs and re-use water. Irrigation systems must be improved. Scale is important; not all projects must be large-scale. In fact, smaller-scale, locally focused projects are catalysts for improving local economies. Finally, we must work together collectively to make pro-active decisions rather than focus on crisis intervention.

Loranger concluded by highlighting areas for potential action, including the creation of a clearly defined national and international water policy with a strong component for education. He also pointed to the benefits of rationalizing the economic model applied to water to mediate water scarcity, sanitation, and energy issues. Both of these policy approaches will serve as catalysts for further technological innovation.

Back to Workshop One: U.S. Policy Innovation

Steve Loranger
Presentation